Spring-wheel.



J. C. & I. L. DEGKARD.

SPRING WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 23, 1911.

1,021,355. Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

O v W W Q 4 WW (June/Mord I 95?! ML cOLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON.u. c.

UNITED srnrnggngrnnrr OFFICE.

JOHN C. DECKARD AND ISAAC L. DECKARD, OF VINCENNES, INDIANA.

SPRING-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

Application filed May 23, 1911. Serial No. 628,930.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN C. DECKARD and Isaac L. I)I ZCKARD, citizensof the United States, residing at Vincennes, in the county of Knox andState of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSpring-Vheels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to spring wheels adaptable to motor, and othervehicles upon which resilient tires are now used.

An object of this invention is to devise a spring whee-l having itsseveral parts so arranged and constructed as to take the place ofpneumatic tires to avoid the care and expense in the upkeep of the same,and at the same time to have the ease .of running and comparativelightness in the weight of the wheel.

Another object of this invention is to provide a spring wheel whichconforms to a large extent to the general shape and size of the ordinarywheel, and wherein the resilient or spring portion of the wheel isdisposed at the tread of the same to take the place of the commonpneumatic tire.

A further objectof this invention is to provide a spring wheel withconcentric rims joined in a peculiar manner by springs provided withinclined seats so as to support the springs in various angles and tothereby receive the weight upon the wheel longitudinally of the spring.The springs are so arranged that they distribute the weight directly tothe lowermost spoke irrespective of the direction in which the wheelturns, and in such a manner that obstructions in the roadway engagingthe tread of the wheel strike the springs at their ends andlongitudinally depress the same rather than bend the same laterally.

For a full understanding of the invention reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved wheel, part of the samebeing disclosed in section; and, Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view ofone of the spring seat blocks.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawing by the samereference characters.

Referring to the drawing 10 designates an inner rim supported uponspokes 11 radiating from a suitable hub 12. Concentric about the innerrim 10, and spaced from the same, is an outer rim 13. The rim 13 may beof any adaptable form, and may be provided with a suitable tire 14.

The inner rim 10 is provided with a number of spring seats 15, one ofwhich is positioned between each pair of spokes and against the outerside of the rim 10. Each of the spring seats 15 is formed of a blockenlarged at its opposite ends and having its outer face recessed orinclined centrally from the ends of the block to provide inwardly andoppositely inclined outer faces. Retaining screws 16 pass through theintermediate or reduced portion of the block and into the rim 10 tosupport the block thereon. The spring seats 15 are thus constructed inpairs, and are provided at their outer ends with projecting cars 17overlapping with the corresponding ears of the adjacent spring seats andlie against the outer face of the rim 10. Retaining screws 18 passthrough the overlapping ears and into the rim 10. It will be noted fromFig. 1 that the ears 17 overlap against the rim 10 at points directlyopposite to the outer extremities of the spokes 11.

Outer spring seats 19, similar in construction to the spring seats 15with the exception that the spring seats 19 are elongated and areprovided at their ends with relatively long overlapping ears 2O spacingeach pair of t'he spring seats 19 a greater distance apart. It will benoted that the spring seats 19 correspond in number to the spring seats15 and that they are arranged in staggered relation to the same.Retaining screws 21 pass through the spring seats 19 and the cars 20 andinto the outer rim 13 to secure the spring seats against the inner sidethereof.

The overlapping ends of the spring seats 15 and 19 have their outerinclined faces arranged oppositely and in parallelism, and springs 22are interposed between the overlapping spring seats and have their endsresting flat against the opposed faces of the seats. The springs 22 aresecured attheir ends to the seats 15 and 19 by staples 23, or othersuitable fastening means, so as to hold the springs in position whethercompressed or expanded.

The spring or resilient mechanism of the wheel is disposed within asuitable casing, the same comprising a pair of ring plates 24:

secured to the outer rim 13 by detachable screws 25 passing through theplates 24L adjacent to their outer edges and into the 0pposite edges ofthe rim 18. In this manner the rim 13 is practically inclosed betweenthe plates 24 and the tire 14 alone extends beyond the edges of theplates. The plates 24 extend in and against the edges of the inner rim10, the plates 24: terminating a short distance therebeyond. The plates24: are provided with pairs of registering and inwardly extending lugs26 joined by transverse pins 27 providingstops for holding the rims 10and 13 from expanding beyond a predetermined distance at any point ofthe wheel. A number of oil cups 28 are carried upon the inner rim 10 andcommunicate therethrough with the space between the two rims. The oilcups 28 are adapted to feed a quantity of oil to the springs and to theinner faces of the plates 24: to adapt the same to slide easilv againstthe opposite edges of the inner rim 10.

In operation, as the wheel turns the spokes 11 are successively broughtto the lower portion of the wheel, and as each spoke is provided at itsextremity with a pair of diverging springs 22, the forward spring of thepair is compressed longitudinally and transmits the pressure exertedagainst the outer rim 18 to the inner rim 10 at the extremity of thelowermost spoke. It will be noted that when the wheel is traveling andit strikes an obstruction in the road, the impact tends to move theouter rim 1.3 backwardly from the body of the wheel and that since thesprings are arranged at an incline or diagonally to the spokes of thewheel, and since the supporting seats forthe springs are inclined, thesprings offset such impact by their longitudinal depression. By thusarranging the springs, in diverging pairs, one of each pair of springswill lie in a substantially vertical or horizontal plane to support,either by.

expansion or compression, the body of the wheel or the longitudinalthrust incident to the impact with objects in the roadway.

As the rims 10 and 13 move toward or from each other, the inner rim 1.0slides against the inner faces of the casing plates 24 and holds theouter rim from lateral displacement, particularly since the plates arejoined at their inner edges by the transverse pins 27.

It can be readily seen that the resilient attachment to the body of thewheel adds but little weight thereto, as the spring seat blocks and thesprings are relatively small in size.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

A wheel including an inner and an outer rim, a plurality of seats havingoverlapping ends and connected respectively to the inner face of theouter rim and the outer face of the inner rim, each of said seats beingformed with reversely inclined faces with the'centers of the outer seatsopposite the overlapping ends of the inner seats whereby the inclinedfaces of the outer seats extend respectively in substantially parallelrelations to the inclined faces of the inner seats, fastening meansoperating through said overlapping ends for securing said seats to therim members, and springs bearing by their ends against each opposingpair of said parallel faces.

In testimony whereof, we aflix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

JOHN G. DECKARD. a 3.1

ISAAC L. DEOKARD. [Ls] Copies of this patent may be obtained for fivecents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

